The defense rests: Michigan offense gives Don Brown’s bunch a boost

Angelique S. Chengelis The Detroit News Published 12:22 PM EST Nov 10, 2018 Piscataway, N.J. – If it seems the Michigan defense hasn’t been on the field that much late in games, that’s because it hasn’t. The Wolverines (No. 4 AP and CFP) are experiencing the benefits of an offense and defense complementing one another, and that includes allowing the defense a chance to breathe and remain fresh. Part of the reason is because Michigan is fourth nationally in time of possession, averaging 34:42 minutes. Michigan has won eight straight since a season-opening loss at Notre Dame and is 8-1, 6-0 Big Ten, as the Wolverines prepare to face Rutgers at HighPoint.com Stadium on Saturday afternoon. In the first five games of the season, Michigan’s opponents averaged 65 plays a game. Notre Dame ran 69 and Western Michigan 75 the following week. But in the last four games, opponents have averaged 49 plays. In that stretch of games, Penn State, which Michigan beat 42-7 last week, had only 47 plays. “Notre Dame was around 60-70 snaps, now we’re around low-50s,” safety Tyree Kinnel said. “We see it, we feel it on the sideline. We feel like we’re on the sideline a lot more than usual. That’s good for us. With the offense managing the game like that and running plays and doing as well as they’re doing, we feel really good about that. We do feel a little bit fresh.” More: Pain finally brings big payoff for Michigan’s Juwann Bushell-Beatty That’s important in a late-season… [Read full story]